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Just yesterday I wrote about the improving conditions of the Singapore labour market, backed by MOM data, and today there’s another indication of a potential revolution on the horizon—the idea of reducing the work week to four days only.
Robert Walters, a British recruitment company, surveyed 5,000 professionals and companies across 11 markets in Asia about the perceptions regarding the 4-day work week both among employees and employers.
And the results are quite surprising.
Of course not among workers—they almost universally (in the range of 90 per cent or higher) cherished the idea of working a day less each week.
But a majority of employers in all surveyed countries are open to it as well.
Singapore came in the middle of the pack but still with a very healthy, near 70 per cent agreement that it is feasible with just as many believing it could increase productivity levels.
That second part is quite ironic, though, considering only 48 per cent of the workers feel they would be more productive, showing a potential mismatch in expectations between staff and their bosses.
Not so quickly
However, while being open to the idea, few employers actually plan to implement or trial it in the near future.
Only 9 per cent of them confirmed plans to transition to or trial a shorter work week in Singapore in the next two years, with a further 9 per cent admitting to internal discussions, though without any concrete plans.
The combined 18 per cent of those likely to go ahead with it put Singapore second to last among all surveyed countries, only ahead of Japan at 16 per cent.
By comparison, the most enthusiastic are the Vietnamese. Even though the fewest of their companies think working four days is a good idea, among those who do, a whopping 66 per cent are very likely or somewhat likely to go ahead with it.
They are followed by Indonesians, at 58 per cent, and Thais at 50, highlighting significant regional differences between accepting the concept and expressing the will to actually implement it.
By this measure it doesn’t seem Singaporeans are the first in line to experience it.
1 in 2 Singaporeans are willing to share the burden
Of course, there’s more nuance to working a day less. After all, it doesn’t automatically translate into fewer hours. And Singaporeans, along with most professionals in other surveyed countries, are cognisant of that.
46 per cent, so nearly one in two, would accept an additional two hours on the job during each remaining work day, in exchange for an extra free day. This is in between 37 and 59 per cent reported elsewhere. So, in terms of time devoted to work it means no difference, just reallocation of eight hours from Fridays to rest of the week.
That said, 58 per cent would like to keep hybrid work arrangements, so they do not foresee themselves coming in to the office on each of the remaining weekdays. Which is understandable, considering the added commute time which would add up to 12 to 13 hours of commitment, leaving little time for anything else other than sleep.
Without some form of hybrid work, it could quickly make the arrangement exhausting and untenable in the long run.
More questions than answers remain
While the idea may be appealing to both workers seeking to work less and employers who want to ensure satisfaction of their staff, leading to higher productivity and talent retention, the practice of a 4-day work week still has fewer answers than questions.
Daily working hours and hybrid arrangements are only one category. It’s clear that not everybody can be present at work for just four days. So, would it mean companies closing down on Fridays or simply operating in different shifts, with employees enjoying different days off?
After all, much of business is about human interaction, and someone still has to be available to deal with clients.
It’s one of the reasons a trial of a shortened week failed in a Hungarian unit of T-Mobile, as reported earlier this year, due to the mismatch between the needs of customers as well as different units within the same company, which could not transition to a 4-day schedule.
There are questions regarding productivity, pay, and headcount as well.
Would it translate into higher output or rather make people burn out more quickly? Would more have to be employed to fill in the gaps? And if they did, how would that impact remuneration and bonuses of all workers? Would they rather return to a five day schedule for more money?
There are no easy answers here, as it has to be tested in practice in different business settings.
The only thing we can be sure of is that more companies will try the idea in the coming years, providing experiences and figures for everybody else.
Featured image: joyfull / depositphotos